Shopping for scale models...

[Tom Nas]

Hi all,

Another model car swapmeet, another day of buying more than I should...
I'm slowly completing the collection of 1:43 Minichamps UrQ models, having
bought the silver and the black version- there's also a white one but it's
apparently very rare.
Added another model to the collection of 1:43 handbuilt models of factory
rally cars- a very weird one, in AudiSport/Belga livery, as campaigned in
the '83 Rally of Ypres, Belgium. An excellent model of a strange car- long
body, extra wide rear flares and extended front grill. It also features
closed 'dished' Ronal wheels which I've never seen on a factory car before.
Ugly, but interesting. Not cheap at $50.
For my collection of 'I'll build these, some day', I've bought a 1:43 kit
of a 200 in 'HB' livery, as driven by Roehrl in the '87 Monte and Mikkola
in the '87 Acropolis rally. It's made by Scala 43 in Italy and looks like
it's well-made. These limited-production resin kits require lots of skill
to build properly and it takes a long time to make one- especially the
transfers are tough to do properly. At $45, they're not exactly cheap
either but you're not really spoiled for choice when you're looking for a
model of this car.

On the large scale front there's also excellent news: Revell have released
a 1:18 model of the Auto Union Typ C world record car. I saw this one in
the metal in museum mobile in Ingolstadt last summer and it made a big
impression. A huge car, enormous wire wheels, that huge V16 engine with 520
hp in '37! This car made a record run topping 406 km/h and broke 15 speed
records over three days. The model is beautiful, detachable engine cover
showing the detailed mechanics and even an opening cockpit cover to show
the driver's confined quarters. If you're into Audi history, this is one to
get! At less than $25, it's not even expensive for the level of detail and
the finish. Colour is, naturally, silver.

Another recent introduction in 1:18 is the 100 Coupe S of the 1970s by
Anson Collectibles. One of the most beautiful Audis ever made, the large
scale model is an accurate rendition of the original. Opening hood, doors,
trunk and steering front wheels, detailed engine bay and undercarriage with
suspension and exhaust. Finding this model really made my day, and it's
worth every penny of the $25 asking price. There's an orange and a white
version for now, but there'll probably be more colours introduced in the
future- I'm hoping for a blue metallic one...

Minichamps BTW are also introducing a line of NSU models. I've seen a
Prinz, a Sport Prinz and a Wankel Spider, all in the familiar Minichamps
quality- top-notch models at an excellent price.

I've noticed an upsurge in the interest for older Audi models- naturally,
factory-commissioned models like the Minichamps UrQ and the Revell Auto
Union Typ C are bound to appear but the 100 Coupe S is AFAIK not introduced
with factory support. I keep coming across more and more Audi scale model
collectors at the swapmeet, so I guess introducing more models is a good
decision.
Audi AG, are you listening? Please get us more scale models of the type 43
and 44 200, Late-model Coupe GT/ quattro and UrQ, an affordable SportQ, the
type 82 Audi 80, S3, NeuS4/S6 and S8... I could go on and on. Still, as far
as scale models are concerned, Audi isn't doing too badly. If you're into
Japanese stuff you're in for a tough assignment finding models...

Tom
empty wallet but lots of scale models in the house